Cranberry Ginger Cookies with Maple Icing & A Bare Root Sweets Giveaway

by Angela Gallardo in Desserts, Holiday, Recipes

2 comments

Christmas is coming quickly.  And I’m thinking we could all use a bit more holiday spirit.  Jorge and I saw an mind-blowing holiday concert last night and amidst the light show and live animals (?!), I was touched by some words shared by the music director and  head pastor of the church.  They raise a tremendous amount of money each year via the concert tickets and the fact that all participants are volunteer.  Amazing.  The money goes to community programs for the homeless, needy, and foster system children throughout Phoenix.  And during the holidays, they collect upwards of 3k bikes to donate to children who may not get a single Christmas gift otherwise.

I felt the spirit of the season deep in my heart.  I was grateful to move my reflections away from myself and my own struggles.  And I want to continue that by giving back to you.  You support this blog and therefore, you support me.  I appreciate it more than a cookbook and some chocolate can really demonstrate.

A little bit more awesomeness came in the form of hitting 1k Bare Root fans on Facebook this weekend.  I love this space here at Bare Root.  I love how it pushes me to always be working on new recipes and ideas, and therefore bettering myself in many ways.  I know many of you have never commented or spoken to me, but you continue stop by and I appreciate it!  I hope we can continue to build this little community and inspire one another to find greater health.

In honor of this giveaway, I’m sharing a fun holiday recipe from Bare Root Sweets.  These Cranberry Ginger Cookies are soft, sweet, and flavorful.  They are also grain-free, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, and can be made completely dairy-free, as well.  The Maple Icing recipe works well for either spreading or piping decorations.

For the giveaway, you can win 1 copy of Bare Root Sweets plus 1 lb high-quality Cacao Liquor, which is pure ground cocoa beans and cocoa butter (soy-free and sugar-free).  It’s a product that’s hard to find in many stores but amazing/delicious to work with and called for in a few of the recipes in Bare Root Sweets.

I’m giving to 2 winners this time, one via the Rafflecopter widget below and one via Facebook.   Scroll down to enter the giveaway here and increase your chances of winning by heading over to the Bare Root Facebook page to enter there.  Come back to enter every day.  Love you all and I am excited to see who wins! 🙂 <3

Cranberry Ginger Cookies

Source:  Bare Root Sweets: 30 Paleo Dessert Recipes for the Modern Food Lover

Yields:  16 cookies

2 c. blanched almond flour

1/4 c. tapioca starch

1/4 c. ground flaxseed

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

2 tbsp. blackstrap molasses

2 tbsp. organic grade B maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. organic virgin coconut oil

1/4 c. dried cranberries, chopped

1/4 c. crystallized ginger, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Combine almond flour, tapioca starch, flaxseed, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in the bowl of a large food processor.  Pulse to combine.  Add molasses, maple syrup, vanilla extract, coconut oil, cranberries, and ginger.  Process until dough comes together in a large ball, about 30-60 seconds.  Dump onto a large piece of saran wrap, wrap tightly, and refrigerate 30+ minutes.

Remove dough from the refrigerator.  Place half the dough in between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll carefully to 1/4″ thickness.  Remove the top sheet of parchment and cut cookie shapes.  Gather scraps and combine with remaining dough and repeat the rolling and cutting.  Continue until all the dough is used up, yielding about 16 cookies.  Divide the cut cookies between 2 parchment-lined sheet pans and bake 12-15 minutes per pan.  Move cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.

Maple Icing

1/4 c. organic coconut butter

1/2 c. organic coconut cream

4 tbsp. organic grabe B maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch ground cloves

2-4 tbsp. grass-fed butter or coconut oil, melted (adjust to desired consistency)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy.  The amount of butter added will yield either a thicker icing for piping (less butter) or a thinner icing for spreading evenly onto cookies (more butter).

Note:  this icing recipe will yield enough to fully cover all 16 cookies; it can be halved if only used for piping decorations.